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Abstract:

We examine the behavior of self-pulsating laser diodes when injected with periodic optical signals.
We experimentally and theoretically investigate the phase difference between the injected optical
signal and the synchronized self-pulsating laser diode emission. We explore the phase difference
dependence on detuning between the laser free-running self-pulsation frequency and the applied
signal frequency, and on the injected signal power. The determined sensitive dependence of the
phase difference on these factors has important consequences when self-pulsating lasers are used as
optical signal processing elements in all-optical communication networks, where such sensitivity
may lead to timing problems.